Kaleido Stars: The Stage is set!
by Riku1221
Summary: An AL story about the possible origins of the stage. Follow Marina Hamilton and her friends as they quest to top the ranks of the best acrobatic competition in the world!


Jimmy Thomas

Access Code: 2880524

Course Number: Writ 045-003

June 9, 2006

Lesson 4 Short Story:

Kaleido STARS: The Stage is Set!

By Peyton James Thomas 

I looked up at the colorful sign hung on the front of the new high school, proclaiming "Welcome to Kaleido High School!" Swarms of people pushed me towards the entrance in their own haste to get to class early or on time, but I stopped and looked all around me.

Big pictures of actors and actresses lined the walls. Some posters were of Layla Hamilton in her legendary performance _Romeo and Juliet_, pulling off the "Golden Phoenix". Some were of Sora Nagino, one of the rookies of the stage, acting in "Fantasia 2005".

My dream was to have my poster up there with all the rest some day.

My name is Marina Hamilton, but most of my friends call me Luxia. Some would describe me as overly loaded with sugar, others like a monkey. They describe me that way because I am a natural acrobat. I do extremely well in gymnastics and I feel that I have impressed almost everyone who has watched me perform. Some adults who watch me even get teary-eyed thinking of my future in the circus and theater arts.

My dream performance would be at the Cirque de Lune, the best Cirque there has ever been. The Cirque de Lune is a circus/theatre that features teenagers and young adults like me. Each high school in the nation sends a group of their elite acrobats to perform, in such things as Spinabolo, Spinabolo Battle, Trapeze, Storyline, Water Series, Floor, and more. Almost anybody can perform if they're competent in acrobatics. I was a fan of the actor Layla Hamilton, because she was excellent in her storyline performances. I just hoped that this new school I was going to had a competent team, so I could perform in storylines like the Little Mermaid, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan.

As I headed to my homeroom, I saw a girl, a little younger than me, playing with a weird type of yo-yo. A closer look revealed that it was, in fact, a Spinabolo! (This device consists of an enlarged celluloid double-cone or "butterfly" yo-yo with no strings attached, spinning on a length of string tied to the ends of 2 plastic rods, about a foot long each. The string is about three feet long, depending on the rods. You play Spinabolo by performing different tricks, and you can play like a tennis game, where you try to toss it into the goal for the win.) _Now this, _I thought, _was a surprise_!

But there was another surprise waiting at homeroom. When I arrived at Mrs. Dewade's homeroom, I found everybody staring at the TV in the room. There appeared to be some sort of entertainment show on the screen. _That's strange_, I thought, _isn't there some sort of rule that bans live shows on TV during school hours?_ I sat down in an empty desk, wondering what the show was.

Then the TV clicked off. Mrs. Dewade stood up.

"Now, what is this that we just saw? Kevin?" she said, pointing to the boy next to me.

"That is the Cirque de Lune, ma'am," he said. An alarm went off in my head. I had never seen that section of Cirque de Lune before in the 7 years I had spent watching every painstaking minute of it.

"Very good, Kevin. You may sit down."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Now, for the new people in this class who have never seen Cirque De Lune, the premise of it is that now there is a place on TV and in front of live audiences for teenagers and young adults to showcase their talent without being rejected as they are on shows like "American Idol". Each and every one of you who choose to participate in the Cirque are expected to give it all you have, both in training and on the stage. This is important to a lot of people around the globe. If you choose to tryout and pass, and then make mistakes on TV, you will have embarrassed and humiliated all of your co-performers.

"But don't think that this is all militaristic. This is where kids, quite literally, make their dreams come true. For the ones in this class who are willing to try with all their heart to go for the CDL, you will have a blast. You'll probably be able to make a lot of friends along the way, both from this school and the other high schools involved. You may discover things about yourself that you never imagined possible before. You'll be able to surpass your limits of human acrobatism, and gain a place that only a few have been able to reach. Plus, you'll gain the recognition of thousands, maybe even millions of fans, around the known world!  
"So for those who make the leap to CDL, I say, go forth and make Kaleido proud!" she concluded triumphantly. The bell rang, signaling the beginning of science, and later, a brand new life.

A little voice in my head kept ranting _why are we here! We'll fail! You'll fail_, as I sat on the floor, stretching out my muscles for the tryouts.

It had been a month since Mrs. Dewade had talked with my homeroom class about CDL. Now a crowd had gathered in the padded room used for practice by the team that I was sure I wanted to join: the Kaleido Stars. The adrenaline was flooding my blood, making me excited and ready for anything.

I noticed that the girl with the Spinabolo was back, although she was not stretching as much as the other girls. She was only stretching her arms and chest, like she was going to swim or something.

A girl walked out, sobbing her eyes out. _She must have not passed,_ I concluded. "MARINA HAMILTON!" the judges called. I walked into the tryout room.

"What are you going to do for us?" one of the judges, a female, asked. I glanced at the acrobatic equipment in the room.

A trapeze set floated over a catch mat. There was a balance beam and a gymnastic floor also, but I felt attracted to the trapeze. Besides, there was a trick that I wanted to perform…

"I'll perform the Golden Phoenix," I stated, staring at the trapeze.

"Really?" another judge said, this time a male. "People much older than you have DIED trying that! Are you sure?"

"Yeah!" I enthused. Maybe a little _too_ enthusiastically.

I went up to the 360-degree trapeze, a trapeze that, when you want to swing rotationally while you are swinging back and forth, you could do so at your pleasure. This was the only way that you could perform the Golden Phoenix.

_Remember, first you gain momentum by swinging back and forth a few times_, my mind instructed. It felt good to be back on the trapeze.

As I built forward momentum, I had to start spinning. This sort of confused my body's sense of direction.

When the trapeze almost reached the apex of its swing, I let go. I sailed through the air. I was aiming for the other trapeze and my true goal: Romeo. I spun through the air.

_This is it! DO IT NOW!_

Time seemed to slow down.

The judges watched in awe.

I could see Romeo, standing on the trapeze in front of me.

And my goal…

Was to be Juliet!

I threw one of my arms back, threw my hair back, moved one of my legs to the point where it looked like it could have been running, and arched my back.

The Golden Phoenix!

_Now to stick the landing, _I thought.

The trapeze bar was just out of arm's reach.

But then it was in my reach.

I grabbed for it…

And connected! I caught the bar with both hands and swung to the other side. Then I rushed over to the judges.

"So, what did you think of it?" I asked.

"To be honest, Marina…"

_Uh-oh_, I thought. _This can't be good._

"I thought it was excellent!"

All the judges agreed. I looked at them with tears of joy.

"You're in, Marina!"

"WOOHOOO!" I screamed, hugging each of the judges, then went screaming down the hall to the "waiting room" area. I finally was going to be a Kaleido Star! All my work had paid off! My journey had just begun!

The next day I went to my first practice. It was free practice. So long as you were doing something that would help you with your acrobatics, you were allowed to do that. I saw some girls working on the trapeze bars, doing basic catches and swings; another was on the suspended Spinabolo court, doing a singles game; yet another was on the tightropes, practicing a sword fight. As I watched, my brain memorized how to do each of the moves that they were doing.

The girl I had seen on my first day jumped off of the Spinablolo court and walked over to me.

"Hi," she said. "My name is Rosetta, what's yours?"

"Umm…Marina. Marina Hamilton. Nice to meet you." I extended my hand to her.

But instead of greeting me back, she looked at me wide-eyed.

"Hamilton? Doesn't that mean that you are related to Layla Hamilton?"

It hit me like a shockwave. My last name was _the same_ as Layla's last name. That meant I could be possibly related to her somehow!

That meant I could possibly have the same natural talent as her!

That meant…

"Well, well, well, Little Princess Hamilton here thinks that she could buy her way into Kaleido Stars with a cheap Phoenix!" a person sneered. I turned to look at her.

This girl looked innocent enough, but I could tell from her voice that she was dissing my Phoenix. Her eyes were dark and resentful that I had appeared on her turf.

"And how good is your Phoenix?" I replied. "I bet it's more like a Pigeon than a Phoenix."

"You are a newbie here, and from our point of view, noobs have no place in CDL." She crossed her arms and some of the girls around her congregated behind her and copied her actions.

I felt tempted to say something both extremely vulgar and hurtful, but before I could, Rosetta stepped in and said, "Hey, can you tell me why you like to beat up on these new recruits, huh? Don't you ever feel guilty that you have hurt people's feelings?"

The opposing girl softened her eyes a little, finally realizing that her actions were hurtful and offensive. She ran off, crying.

I smiled at Rosetta.

Rosetta smiled and said, "Hey, I bet that you want to know about what I do in CDL, right?"

I nodded.

She beamed and breathed a fake sigh of relief. "Finally, someone I can teach Spinabolo! Here, take this spare set I have, and come with me!"

We walked to the court. She filled me in on the rules of Spinabolo on the way.

"The court looks like a smaller version of a tennis court, only with no net; instead, there is a gap between the two halves," she said, and all the while, my mind was etching this into memory.

After a couple of weeks I was getting better and better at Spinabolo. I had learned all the basic moves and was starting in on the advanced moves.

The sounds of karate-like grunts and "Hiyas!" would reach anyone who was listening, even at night when the school classes weren't open. Rosetta and I had gained access to the court through the athletic director, since nobody used it more than the Stars team.

We were finishing up with our practice one night, when the girl who had taunted us that other time appeared in the moonlight.

"Look, all I wanted to say was that I am sorry. I know now, thanks to Rosetta, that my actions were callous and rude. I just want to be your friend now. Is that all right?" the girl said.

I nodded. At least I'll have another friend here at this school.

Soon the Stars were at CDL, in the shows _Dralion© _and _Varekai©_ playing in Cinderella, and my favorite, Romeo and Juliet, with me playing as Juliet. I saw how all of the people watching us were amazed at my skills.

The manager of the Stars team came by during one practice in December to tell us that the Championships were coming. "The Championship show is the big show where all the contests in the theater industry meld into one grand finale of the season."

"You all have done well in your previous performances. But this is both a performance and a real-time contest. Each of you must try your hardest to win each of your matches; especially you, Rosetta and Marina." With that, the coach walked off.

Action started to occur a few moments after the coach left. Everyone went back to their practicing with a new concentration. Soon, Rosetta and I were in the showers, cooling off after a long, hard workout.

"So," I said to her, "What do you plan on competing in this year?"

"Well," she replied. "I guess if you are progressing so well with your training in the art of Spinabolo, we can compete in the Spinabolo Doubles."

"Really? Are you sure, or have you gone completely insane?" I cried.

"I guess a little of both."

"No, are you serious about this?"

"Never more so! There is no question that we can do it if we try really hard!" She pumped her fist.

I copied. "Yeah, we can!"

Two weeks later, I was starting to doubt we could.

Rosetta and I were in the "warm-up" room stretching as much as we could and practicing a small match between us. This Spinabolo match, along with being the most-watched part of the Championship shows, was the most important. If we won this match, then we would claim the prize of being the best youth Spinaboloists in the country. If we lost, well, as Rosetta would put it, "we would have to be in the Witness Protection Program."

Our match was going to be against the covergirls of Spinabolo, Ruby Devine and Kari Cleric. Not only were they experts far beyond Layla at this game, but whenever they played, they attracted the attention of all the boys and men in the audience. Ruby was even responsible for influencing Rosetta to learn Spinabolo. Although we didn't look too bad ourselves, being in Kaleido High's representative outfits (silver and metallic red body-leotards with a star on them, although the star on the upper section looked more like a circus top than a star), we felt jealous that our opponents looked better than we did. But my equipment, with the winged star on the ends of the rods, was comparable to some of the best rods out there.

"Hey, man, no worries! It's all good," Rosetta said. I softly smiled, then heard the stomping of feet in the bleachers above us.

Stomp, stomp, clap! Stomp, stomp,_ clap_!

Queen started to play loudly on the speakers, with, you guessed it; "We Will Rock You!". Today, that was our theme song.

Stomp, stomp, clap! Stomp, stomp,_ clap_!

We gave each other one final hug, then stepped out onto the stage. "And from Kaleido High School, California, with a combined experience of a year and a half, Rosetta Hepburn and Marina Hamilton!" the announcer yelled. An eruption of cheers exploded from the crowd as they caught sight of us running out onto the court. We waved to the audience, and then I saw her.

Immediately I saw Layla in the bleachers, cheering like the others. I felt almost numb to the world.

_Is she cheering…FOR ME?_ I was so, so…I didn't know what I was feeling then.

Suddenly I felt like I could walk on air. My only purpose now was to impress Layla.

"Hey, Rose?" I called.

"Yeah, sup?"

"We must win tonight. Layla is watching in the bleachers."

Silence followed. Then, "You're kidding, right? She can't…Oh my god above, have mercy, it _is_ her! No way that could be her! HI LAYLA!" she yelled to Layla, acting like a maniac.

I put my hand on her shoulder. "C'mon, right now, we have a job to do and a trophy or two to collect!"

"Right!"

We walked onto the court and immediately noticed something: the court was suspended from the ceiling! Of course it added to the value of the game for the fans, but it made the game even more challenging than it already was!

"Wh-wh-what are we going to do with this court? It isn't stable at all!" Ruby cried.

"Well, there's only one thing we can do: play Diabolo." Kari replied, with a look of passion on her face.

I still heard the rhythmic stomping and clapping, urging us to win.

Stomp, stomp, clap! Stomp, stomp, _clap_!

The referee's platform whirred over to the center of the court on a robotic arm. "Now here are the rules, kids: one, you do not intentionally launch the Spinabolo towards another in order to hurt your opponent. Two, you must successfully launch the Spinabolo into the goal to score the win. Three, you may not alter the Spinabolo's direction with a computer or another device designed to help you cheat. Four, you may not touch the diabolo with your hands, and five, the aim of Spinabolo is to have fun, so enjoy yourselves and give it all you got!"

Stomp, stomp, clap! Stomp, stomp, _clap_!

"READY?" the announcer, yelled.

The rhythm was louder this time.

STOMP STOMP CLAP! STOMP STOMP _CLAP_!

"START!" The Spinabolo was launched.

And the game began!

As soon as the yo-yo was launched, both of the teams raced across the court halves and jumped to obtain the yo-yo. This was important, because when the opposing team lands in your half of the court with the Diabolo, it's easier for them to score their winning goal.

Time again slowed down to the point where you could have sworn it was the Matrix déjà vu all over again!

Ruby's long, flowing red hair clouded behind her head.

Kari's jet-black hair snapped like a whip.

Rosetta's brown eyes burned with determination. Or maybe it was allergies, I couldn't tell which.

The diabolo hung in the air suspended above the gap.

One of my pink "Cardcaptor" brand rods sailed towards the diabolo's center to wrap around it, while at the same time, a blue and black rod, a silver rod, and a red and gold rod heading the diabolo's way, aimed to do the same thing.

When I snapped back to real time, I realized that my rod had caught on to the diabolo and held on as I landed with a roll on the other side. I immediately passed the diabolo to Rosetta, who caught it on her rods. Then we ran. We ran towards the end of the court, aiming for the goal on the side.

Before we could get there, Ruby and Kari landed and were chasing us.

"Rosetta, hurry! They're gaining!" I called.

For the third time that day, time slowed to Matrix proportions.

Rosetta pumped all her power into her feet to make it the whole 9 yards.

Kari and Ruby, with a growl on their faces, were speeding towards our location.

Rosetta threw the Diabolo towards the goal, aiming to make a win for Kaleido.

Ruby rushed with all her strength to capture the diabolo before the goal was made.

A slicing and a snapping sound seemed to be amplified due to the slowdown of time in my mind.

Which could only mean one thing…

When Chronos decided to get serious again, and time slipped to its normal rate, I looked up at the thick ropes supporting the court. Somebody had decided, cold-bloodedly, to sabotage the game and cut off the supports that were holding us up! How cruel to risk injury or death just to win a game!

Then it hit me. All of us, including Rosetta and I, were going to fall 70 feet if I didn't do something very soon. All of us would fall…to our deaths.

The court started tilting.

Ruby and Kari both lost their footing and started to slide.

Rosetta noticed this and made a move to save them.

I could see Ruby and Kari reaching the end of the court, where there was nothing they could hold to prevent them from falling.

An idea struck me like lightning.

A while ago, when I had bought my rods in a store, I had found 2 buttons that both lengthen the rope to make the rods more like a rope, and to make it more like a grappling hook.

I pushed a hidden button on one of the ends of my diabolo rods, and suddenly the rope almost quadrupled in size.

One of my rods fell close to Ruby and Kari.

"Take it!" I yelled to them.

They took it and I pushed another button on the rod I was holding.

The winged end of the rod shot out of the rod, unraveling a hidden, super-strong cord reel, behind it.

It latched onto the upper edge of the court.

Then I saw Rosetta.

She was clinging onto the remaining ropes that still held that end of the court up.

"We need a platform here, _QUICKLY!_" I yelled.

The announcer's platform reached out from its previous location on a robotic arm.

Kari and Ruby dropped onto the platform, while Rosetta and I still clung onto the remaining section of the court.

The referee's platform whirred towards us, and I fell onto it…

Rosetta jumped on too.

Soon, the whole court collapsed to the stage far below, crashing down with a massive explosion.

Everyone was cheering and screaming about how heroic my actions had been. Rosetta's parents, Ruby's parents, and Kari's parents all thanked me so much for saving their daughters. I immediately became something of a hero in the public's eyes, because not only did I save the covergirls of Diabolo _and_ the legend that Rosetta would become, but also in a later match, Rosetta and I won! We had taken the trophy for the first year, and the whole school was so excited for us. We finally could add to Kaleido's repertoire the World Champions in Diabolo Doubles.

EPILOGUE

Kaleido Stars eventually went on to take first place in Storyline with "Chrono Crusade", and at the closing Ceremonies, Rosetta and I were named the Most Valued Acrobats of the year. As the confetti showered around me, I felt proud and content that I had fulfilled my own and Layla's expectations.

At the end of the show, though, Rosetta and I were still ourselves. We slogged through schoolwork, visited each other's houses, hung out at the mall, had sleepovers, performed once in a while on the local Boardwalk and Marine Park, and pretty much went on with our lives.

When we graduated, we still continued to stay friends, by going to the same college, sharing the same dorm room, and enjoying the same pursuits. Thankfully, we never drank, never did drugs, and never got in cahoots with the wrong crowd. We had already seen what those things could do to a person's body.

As for Layla, she turned out to be a great friend. She really liked helping girls like us become star performers. Now we perform together, hang out like sisters, and live life to the fullest.

I believe that's what everyone should do.

As college ended, we all decided that it was time to make our own stage to perform on. We bought some property at the end of the docks, and we dedicated the stage to the school that had led us to the career that we have today:

Kaleido Stage©.

Rosetta, Layla, and I soon made the newspapers as the best Theater Company this year. So if you want to enjoy the thrill of soaring high, the magic of the theater, and the actors who make it all possible, then come and watch us. Come to KaleidoStage and experience what dreams are made of.


End file.
